Why English Pronunciation is so Hard

The video tutorial explores the complexities of English pronunciation by examining how the sounds of words change as letters are altered. Starting with 'through', the tutorial demonstrates the pronunciation shifts to 'though', 'thought', 'bought', 'cough', and finally 'enough'. Each transformation highlights changes in vowel sounds, voiced and unvoiced consonants, and the challenges of English spelling and pronunciation. The tutorial concludes with a humorous acknowledgment of the difficulties posed by the 'ough' letter combination.

What is the initial sound in the word 'through'?

• Voiced TH

• Unvoiced TH

• OU vowel

• VR consonant

How does the pronunciation change when 'R' is dropped from 'through'?

• It becomes 'thought' with an unvoiced TH

• It becomes 'threw' with an unvoiced TH

• It becomes 'though' with a voiced TH

• It becomes 'through' with a voiced TH

What happens to the word 'thought' when the TH is replaced with a B?

• It becomes 'bought'

• It becomes 'bat'

• It becomes 'bow'

• It becomes 'but'

When the final T is dropped from 'bought', what is the resulting pronunciation?

• Bough

• Boo

• Bow

• Ball

What is the correct pronunciation of the word spelled 'cough'?

• Cuff

• Coo

• Cough

• Cow